A sample analyzer equipped with a dispensing nozzle for aspirating and discharging liquid such as samples and reagents, in which a disposable pipette tip is detachably attached to the distal end of the dispensing nozzle to prevent contamination, is conventionally known. In such analyzers, a pipette tip supplier for supplying the pipette tip to the dispensing nozzle one by one so as to continuously perform the dispensing task is generally arranged.
As for such pipette tip supplier, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-19182 and the like has disclosed a pipette tip setting machine including a stocker containing the pipette tips; a bucket conveyor for sequentially conveying the pipette tips contained in the stocker to the upper side, and dropping the pipette tip conveyed to the upper side; a funnel shaped hopper to which the pipette tip dropped from the bucket conveyor is guided through a shoot; and a conveyance rail, disposed with the pipette tip guided by the hopper, for conveying the disposed pipette tip.
However, in the pipette tip supplier disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-19182, the pipette tip is sequentially dropped to the shoot by the bucket conveyor, and thus the pipette tips may accumulate in the shoot and the hopper in the path from the shoot to the hopper. In this case, the pipette tip may get stuck in the hopper or be disposed on the conveyance rail in an overlapping state, and may not be smoothly conveyed.
The present invention has been developed in view of the above aspects and is to present a pipette tip supplier which is capable of convey the pipette tip smoothly.